


Fancy Meeting You Here!

by MissMoochy



Series: MissMoochy's Marvel Fluff Bingo Oneshots [2]
Category: Fantastic Four, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Hair Washing, Haircuts, M/M, Marvel Fluff Bingo 2021, POV Peter Parker, Stan Lee Cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMoochy/pseuds/MissMoochy
Summary: Marvel Fluff Bingo prompt: [Hairdresser AU]Peter's trying to make it work, juggling patrol with two jobs. He likes his new job, working at a unisex hair salon, but then Johnny Storm walks through the door, requesting a haircut! And due to a Spider-Man malfunction, Johnny leaves the place convinced that Peter has a crush on him. Which is only partly true...
Relationships: Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Series: MissMoochy's Marvel Fluff Bingo Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096724
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	Fancy Meeting You Here!

“Oh my God!”

Peter glanced up from his work. He was working on one of his regulars, an elderly man called Stan. Stan always got the exact same haircut and tipped generously. He was one of Peter’s favourites. Of course, Peter always claimed that all his customers were his favourites, but his heart would always sink when Flash fucking Thompson would walk through the door. 

“Tina?” he called across. “Are you okay?”

Stan was reading a battered old comic book and he waved a hand to indicate Peter should go and see what the commotion was. Peter nodded gratefully and scurried over. Tina was new, she was a smiley, friendly girl but had the tendency to get a bit over-excited and she was prone to bolts of nervousness, especially when dealing with a pushy customer.

He nudged her elbow. It was Tina’s shift at the reception table, everybody took turns. She was good at it, her natural charm endeared her to customers but Peter had had to remind her to actually write down the messages she took when she manned the telephone. 

“Is everything okay?” And then, because she was staring at the window. “Did you see something?”

“Across the road,” she whispered. “The coffee shop. Is that— oh my g— is that _Johnny Storm?”_

Peter’s hand jumped to his mouth. It couldn’t be. She’d probably seen just some random blond guy and decided it was the hero and celebrity who made the news every week. Sunlight was pouring through the pane so he squinted. The guy was sitting on one of those rickety silver chairs that they had outside Bella’s Cafe. He couldn’t see what he was drinking. But he recognised the shock of blond hair. Yeah, that was Johnny.

“Yeah, that’s him,” he mumbled. Tina’s excited squeal deafened him.

“This is amazing! I love him so much! Do you think he’d sign something if I ran over?”

“I mean, he might! But you’re not supposed to leave the desk — oh, there she goes.”

Tina raced out, throwing the door open. A little bell hung on the door and her mad exit sent it swinging, tinkling merrily.

Peter sighed, and returned to Stan.

* * *

Peter was ringing Stan up at the till when Tina returned.

“There you are,” he said crossly. The cash register was ancient and he’d been begging their manager to upgrade it with a newer model for months. Seriously, this thing belonged in a museum. He stabbed a few buttons and the machine groaned. “You can’t just skate off when you feel like it! I don’t care if you saw some vapid, pretty boy drinking lattes across the street.”

Stan shuffled off into the afternoon with his comic book tucked under his arm and Peter glanced up at Tina. She looked pained.

“Um, I brought a customer over,” she said, biting her lip. Peter’s gaze swept over her shoulder to the man standing behind her. Shit. 

Johnny grinned at him. “Do you have time to cut a vapid, pretty boy’s hair?”

Peter blushed horribly, wishing the linoleum would crack open and he could fall through to the centre of the earth. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean that, I shouldn’t have said it. Tina, would you show the customer to a chair?”

Tina led him away, chattering in his ear. Peter scowled at their backs. Tina was petite and short, just a little over four foot and Johnny towered over her. Johnny was dressed simply, a grey t-shirt and artfully-ripped jeans. But no matter what he wore, he always looked like a catwalk model. Even after the Fantastic Four had been battling, like, a bog monster or something, he always looked so perfect in the newspapers. Peter had never photographed Johnny Storm. It felt like tempting fate. He preferred to keep Spider-Man and Peter Parker as far apart as he could. There was always that fear that one day, somebody would look at him, Peter Parker, dead in the eyes and say “Hang on, you’re Spider-Man!” It was best to keep Peter Parker away from New York’s heroes.

But now, it was inescapable because there was a hero right here in his workplace, sitting on a chair and smiling up at Tina as she twittered about excitedly. She was still the rookie, still in training. She wasn’t really ready to cut somebody’s hair unsupervised and seeing as how Johnny was rich and had a lot of influence, it wouldn’t be smart to unleash Tina and her scissors on him. If she screwed up his hair, he could make life very difficult for the salon. Peter liked to think that Johnny would rise above such pettiness but he didn’t know the man that well, so couldn’t be sure what he was capable of. And yeah, Johnny may be brave and dedicated at protecting New York, but he clearly had a vain streak so he’d probably go nuclear if he received a poor haircut. With these depressing thoughts in mind, Peter reluctantly dragged himself over to his customer.

“You’re, like, the best hero in New York! It’s amazing, I can’t believe you’re even sitting here! Argh! You’re just the best!”

Johnny shrugged modestly. “There’s a lot of people who do a lot of good things for New York. Iron Man, Spider-Man—”

Tina gave an exaggerated shudder. "Ugh, I can’t stand Spider-Man. Who would name themselves after some gross insect? And there’s something really weird about a person who never shows their face—”

“Arachnid. Not an insect.” Johnny said quietly. His eyes met Peter’s over Tina’s head. It might have been Peter’s imagination but Johnny looked a bit embarrassed.

Peter had heard worse things about Spider-Man but it was usually some slack-jawed bystander in the street, not his ditzy co-worker. He folded his arms.“Tina, aren’t you supposed to be watching the reception desk?”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll see you later, _Johnny.”_ She sauntered back to the desk, walking with a shimmy in her hips that had Peter rolling his eyes.

“Okay, so have you thought what kind of cut you’re after?”

Johnny looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure, I just know I don’t like my current style.”

“Well, we have some magazines, you could have a look?”

“Yeah, I guess. I like _your_ hair!”

“Oh!” That was — that was actually kind of nice for him to say. Peter self-consciously ran a hand through his curls. “You wouldn’t like it in the rain. I get major frizz.”

“I hear you. My hair’s thin. Like, I have a lot of hair but each hair is thin? Does that make sense?”

“Blonde hair tends to be finer than other colours. Finer means thinner.” Peter told him, “It’s to do with the melanin in the hair.”

Johnny grinned up at him. “You must really like hair. Working here all day.”

Peter laughed. “It’s a job! It’s a living. Um, shall I give you a few minutes so you can think about what cut you want?”

“Hang on. I’ve got some photos on my insta. I had a cut a couple of years ago and I really liked it. Let me just—” Johnny scrolled on his smartphone for a few seconds and then held it up triumphantly. “I thought this was a cool look for me.”

Peter accepted the phone and examined the screen. He knew Johnny was very active on social media, newspapers were always publishing photos from Johnny’s Instagram or Facebook of him at galas and other events for the elite. Usually with his family but sometimes, he could be seen partying with socialites in some tabloid.

The photo showed Johnny at some gig, Peter could see him standing in the foreground, with a raised stage far behind him. The background was lit with blue and purple lights and Johnny had his arm around a girl. Peter wondered if she was a fan of his, she had the same dopey expression that Tina wore when she first spotted him. He put that thought away and focused on the haircut.

Johnny’s tanned skin, Hollywood grin and effortless confidence already guaranteed him to be one of New York’s famous heartthrobs, but the hair helped. Thick, golden locks, cut shorter in the back and spiked up at the front. It was a good look for him, Peter had to admit it. Johnny’s current hairstyle, the one that he was wearing right now, was ungelled, and a bit longer, shaggier. It didn’t really suit him. He didn’t think it was a deliberate choice. Perhaps Johnny had been busy and hadn’t had the time to visit the barbers. Or maybe, he’d been on some expedition with his family and had been abroad. Peter had no clue. He was still stung that the first time he’d met The Richards, they’d disliked him. Well, they’d disliked _Spider-Man._ They’d never met Peter Parker, so…

“Sure, I can do that,” he said, passing him the phone. “Do you want a dry cut or wash, blow-dry and cut?”

 _Please be a dry cut!_ Johnny may play up the playboy facade for the papers, but he was no fool. Every second that he spent here, was a second where he could discover that his plain, boring hairdresser was none other than Spider-Man!

“Can I have a wash, too? All the works!” Johnny said, smiling winningly. Peter nodded but he wished he could web his way out of the shop and take off running.

* * *

Johnny was surprisingly quiet. Peter had assumed he’d be talking his ear off, bragging about his latest public appearances or the work that his family were doing. Despite their disastrous first meeting, Peter still held a healthy amount of respect for Dr. Reed Richards. He’d contributed so much to the world of science and he was somebody Peter really admired. Peter threw a cape around Johnny’s shoulders and fastened it behind his neck. He dampened his hair with warm water and got to work with the lather, massaging the sweet-smelling shampoo in his hair. Johnny closed his eyes, sitting contentedly as Peter ran his fingers through his hair. He may be annoying but he had great hair, Peter decided, only a little bit irritated. Thick, lush hair that sifted through his fingers. Peter’s observation had been correct, the blond hair was fine, but it was clearly well-maintained. Johnny’s scalp and neck felt very warm. He thought that it must be his pyro powers resting dormant beneath the skin. It hit him suddenly: he was touching Johnny Storm. Spider-Man was touching the Human Torch and Johnny had no freaking idea! 

He began to apply water to rinse the soap off, massaging Johnny’s scalp to get the suds out. Johnny made a quiet, relaxed sound, his head bobbing slightly, rocked by Peter’s ministrations. When he brought out the hairdryer, Johnny finally opened his eyes. Peter always enjoyed this bit, there was something satisfying at seeing heavy, damp hair become warm and dry. Johnny’s hair didn’t take too long to dry. Peter turned Johnny’s head to the side so he could reach the damp bits. Johnny’s hair had been a dark golden-brown when damp, curling on his forehead, but now it was that golden colour that everybody recognised. He had wicked volume, it was like he’d backcombed it. Peter wished his own hair had this much body. 

“Your hair is really puffy!” Peter yelled over the roar of the dryer and he felt rather heard Johnny laugh, his shoulders shaking.

Johnny didn’t read a magazine while Peter worked on, he gazed at his phone instead. It didn’t bother him that Johnny wasn’t talking. Peter actually preferred quiet customers. He didn’t have to pretend to listen while concentrating on cutting their hair. As he cut, he couldn’t help rubbing strands of hair between his fingers. Johnny had such lovely hair, it really was a pleasure to cut it. A couple times, he nudged Johnny’s shoulder and asked to see the picture again for reference, but he was pretty sure that he knew what he was doing. But Peter had been cursed with what he begrudgingly referred to as Parker Luck. The Parker family sometimes felt like they must have been born under an unlucky star, with the amount of crap that happened to them. And when you add Parker Luck with Spider-Man, the results can be...interesting. Peter was almost done, he’d cut it shorter in the back and styled it in front, making it look just like the picture. He fluffed up Johnny’s hair, and then went round to the back, just to give it one last go with the clippers.

He was so careful, not wanting to accidentally take off more than he meant to, and he had the fingers of one hand on Johnny’s neck, holding him in place as he manipulated the razor with his other hand. And then...he was stuck.

Oh no, no, please no. Of all the times to have a Spider-Man mishap, not while he was cutting the Human Torch’s hair, please, no! One of Peter’s more useful powers was that he stuck to pretty much anything. This power was usually only activated when he had a strong desire to cling to something. He could hang from walls or ceilings by his fingertips. But he didn’t like doing it, always with that fear in the back of his mind that he might be somehow unable to _unstick_ himself. He preferred to rely on his web-shooters. But now, here he was, with his fingers glued to Johnny’s warm, smooth neck. Johnny wouldn’t be able to tell, but he would be wondering why his hairdresser wouldn’t stop touching his neck. _He’s going to think I’m a pervert,_ Peter thought, with horror. _He’ll get me fired!_ But he couldn’t tell him why he was touching him, so— 

Their eyes met in the wall-to-wall mirror. Johnny didn’t look freaked out, but his fair eyebrows were drawn in a quizzical bow. Peter shot him a nervous smile and tried to jiggle his fingers free. He’d managed to get his thumb and pinky free, using the clippers as a barrier to disguise what he was doing. It probably felt like Peter was creepily caressing him, stroking his fingers on his throat. Johnny’s wide blue eyes were once again staring at his screen, so Peter hoped he was distracted. He just had three fingers to dislodge, he could do this. Concentrating on his task with his heart pounding in his ribs, he didn’t notice Johnny lifting his hand until he felt a warm palm land on the back of his hand. Peter froze, and checked Johnny’s reflection in the mirror. Johnny was still gazing at his phone, looking at memes, but he was smiling faintly. His fingers stroked the back of Peter’s hand, a gentle hot drag that made the hairs rise on Peter’s arm. His hand felt hotter than his neck and his head. Peter spared a second to wonder if that heat carried everywhere, all over his body. He rejected the thought and gave one final pull and his fingers slipped free of Johnny’s neck. This action batted Johnny’s hand away and the guy brought his hand down to the arm of his chair.

What the hell had just happened? Had he thought Peter was coming on to him? Was Johnny bisexual? Peter was reeling, it felt like too much had occurred in the space of a few minutes. He couldn't process it all. He gave one final glance to Johnny’s hair. It was looking good. He picked up his mirror and cleared his throat.

“Okay, so do you want to have a look and tell me if there’s anything else you’d like me to do for you today?” He cringed, why did he have to phrase it like that? He made it sound like he was willing to do more than cut hair! Johnny seemed pleased with the cut, which was a relief.

“Hey. That's perfect, just what I wanted. Thanks, man. What do I owe you?”

“You can head on over to the desk and Tina will help you.”

Johnny sauntered over and Tina greeted him with more enthusiasm than was appropriate. Peter preferred working with the other hairdressers, but it was a quiet day, and it was just the two of them looking after the shop right now.

He grabbed a broom and swept up the golden hair, ignoring Tina’s chattering voice. The till pinged and the bell on the door rang happily as Johnny left.

“He tipped me twenty dollars!” Tina cried, waving the bill in Peter’s face. He tried not to scowl. He was glad Johnny had tipped anything, some customers didn’t. But Peter was working two jobs, the unisex hair salon and his gig at _The Daily Bugle,_ just so he could make ends meet. He really could have used a tip. And he wasn’t sure why Johnny would tip Tina, she hadn’t been the one to cut his hair. He tried to smile.

“Hey, that’s really great. You deserve that.”

To his shock, she hugged him tightly. “Thank you! This has been such an awesome day. Do you mind if I just go into the backroom and call my sister? I got to tell her what happened, she’s going to be so jealous I met _The_ Johnny Storm!”

For once, her enthusiasm was infectious. He smiled broadly. “Go for it.”She scurried off and Peter wandered over to the till. He’d have to take a break soon, he needed his caffeine fix. Something his eye, a triangle of white on the dark counter. He pulled it out. It was a small piece of paper, folded in half. He took it out and something fell from it and landed at his feet. He ducked down and grabbed: a hundred dollar bill. He turned it over in his hand and then realises there was writing on the paper.

_For my cute hairdresser, Peter. - JS_

Beneath the words was a phone number. Peter stuffed the bill and the note in his jeans pocket. Seriously, what the hell was going on with his life right now?


End file.
